


Why Leon Kuwata No Longer Visits Girls Alone At Night

by That1guyeveryonehates



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25754932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That1guyeveryonehates/pseuds/That1guyeveryonehates
Summary: A fanwork for the Blackened Skies fanfiction series by CSpratt and Mr Cynical.Leon Kuwata is reflecting on the ruined state of his life when he gets a little visit from yet another cute, musically gifted girl.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Kuwata Leon
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	Why Leon Kuwata No Longer Visits Girls Alone At Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story written for a fanwork contest held on the discord chat for Blackened Skies, a fanfiction co-authored by Cspratt and Mr Cynical. Credit to the specific scenario goes to them. Credit for the characters goes to Kazutaka Kodaka as well as all the members of Spike Chunsoft responsible for creating the Danganronpa franchise. I am but a humble fan.

_ "I'm sorry. You shouldn't feel pressured to do anything right now. Take your time to figure things out, okay? And when you're ready, if you feel like it, you can talk about it with us." She apologized, closing it with a small, comforting smile. _

Damn it! Why does she have to make it so hard for him to be mad at her? Running this through his head, Leon had to admit the optics were not in his favor. If he continued to be mad at her after all the kindness and patience she showed him, he would come out of this looking less cool than a ‘90s boy band reunion in 2020.

The player’s initial impression of the pianist was typical of...well, a  _ player _ . Kaede Akamatsu was cute, no ifs ands or buts about it. To top it off, she was a musician: total bonus! Instant turn on! Sure, the piano was kinda old and didn’t really fit the punk scene, but come on, look at her! Give her a kickass makeover and she’s a total image booster for  _ sure _ ! Image is, after all, at least 50% of what show business is all about. Yeah, sure, you had to have  _ some _ talent, but branding is crucial as well! You can call Leon Kuwata shallow for thinking that way, but think of how many talented people go unnoticed and how many averagely talented people catch big breaks.

Image is everything.

So you can imagine the total sucker punch to the gut it must have been for that horrendous image of Sayaka Maizono’s cold, bloody body slumped up against the bathroom wall to suddenly seize Leon’s mind. It was as though the memory had crawled into the blissfully ignorant consciousness of the baseball player and stabbed it repeatedly with the very same kitchen knife protruding from the idol’s abdomen.

Horrific. Grizzly. Unfair in almost every meaning of the word.

Unfair that Sayaka had been trapped in such a cruel environment, where her mind could be twisted and manipulated into something not quite herself.

Unfair that Leon had been chosen as her means of escape, after doing absolutely nothing wrong to her, but only chosen by virtue of being the biggest chump in the group.

Unfair that Sayaka got to play victim after attacking  _ him _ because she wanted to see her idol group. As if she cared more about them than anyone else cared about their loved ones. 

Unfair that because she reacted to that dumb motive, now she would never get to see them again, nor would Leon ever get to see his family again. How would somebody explain that to Kanon or his dad? That they would never get to see their cousin, their son again, all because that blue-haired  _ bitch _ went totally unhinged and got both of them killed.

It was unfair.

But, it wasn’t entirely Sayaka’s fault.

Some of the blame fell squarely on Leon’s shoulders; a significant amount, in fact. Leon recognized that, of course, he wasn’t totally oblivious to the world around him. As such, he resolved to prevent that from happening again. From that moment on, Leon Kuwata would no longer visit girls alone at night.

That’s not to say that he could trust guys either, but the truth was, that wasn’t the main problem. The first time around, the baseball player knew to be skeptical of people, guys especially. He was obviously more athletic than most, but the ones that couldn’t beat him up outright could be able to outsmart him. When his life was on the line, he could admit that he wasn’t entirely invincible.

But, as mentioned before, that wasn’t the problem. He was suspicious of the dudes just fine. It was the chick that got him. With the exception of Toko and Sakura, there wasn’t a single girl there that Leon would think twice about spending some alone time with. However, in a situation as intense as that, girls like Celeste and Kyoko became a bit more suspicious. But, who knows, maybe if either of them had invited him to their room late at night, he might not have gotten a knife thrust in his face. If it had been Junko, Aoi, or Chihiro, he might not have gotten executed the way he did, he might still be alive. As far as he could tell, none of them had tried to kill anyone over that dumb motive video.

The only one who tried that was Sayaka Maizono...the one that, admittedly, he suspected the least.

Image be damned, he was a total Sayaker. What wasn’t to like? She was everything Kaede seemed to be plus the added bonus of national fame.

And that was part of the problem with him trusting Kaede: she reminded him too much of Sayaka. That Tsumugi girl too, I mean, blue hair? Come on. And that voice...it was  _ too  _ familiar for comfort…

They had differences, sure. Who didn’t? But the similarities were enough: a high-spirited, outgoing, musically inclined girl who wants to be everyone’s friend? I mean, cliche anime chick, but still. Enough.

These thoughts and more would plague Leon’s brain as he spent countless hours holed up in his room. He’d always been good at convincing himself what to think.

But now, after earlier that day when he’d gotten into that tussle with Kaito (who, despite the killer goatee, was a total pain in the ass) and Tsumugi over the anime thing, Kaede’s final words reverberated around his brain, totally blocking out any of the other negative musings he replayed over and over again.

Leon wasn’t smart, but he wasn’t an idiot. He’d watched enough zombie movies to know that locking yourself up alone, although in theory a great idea, was always one of the dumbest things you could do to yourself. That was part of the reason he’d ventured out to begin with. But it wasn’t just that, it was not being able to trust anyone. You had to find the perfect balance for that. Kinda like...well, a perfect pitch…

The analogy wasn’t one to dwell on, but it was useful enough to make Leon understand that he had to position himself just right: shoot too far forward and you lose your footing, stay too far back and you lose your power. Trust too much, trust too little, either one could get you killed.

…

God damn it’s hot in here...all this thinking really makes the body crave water…

Shit, but it’s nighttime, isn’t it? Could he even go into the dining hall? There was a rule about that last time, knowing Monokuma there’d be one again this time. Oh well, no use in risking it, but...a bit of fresh air would be good too.

Shoving himself off of his bed, Leon slowly reached for the doorknob. His rings clanked against it, but he hesitated as he turned it. Was this really the right move? Last time he left his room at night, he shanked a girl in the stomach.

…

No.

He wasn’t going to be responsible for anyone’s death anymore. He was done losing to this game. If someone attacked him, he’d take Celeste’s stupid, dumbass advice and just run. The ship was big enough, and he had the stamina. Only Sakura and Peko would be fast enough to catch him, and if they wanted him dead, well, he’d have no chance anyway.

Fuck it. No more fear, damn it!

Avoiding the creak, his door swung wide open with the ferocity of a reinvigorated man, and-

*THUD*

“OWW!”

_ Shit! _

Scrambling outside his room, Leon found that his cabin door had swung right into the face of Kaede Akamatsu, sending her skidding to the deck. Her knees crashed together, fortunately keeping her skirt over anything she might want to preserve, and her hand shot instinctively to her head, which hadn’t bruised, but still must have felt incredibly sore. She had the image of a klutzy, cutesy anime love interest. It was a sort of “meet cute” type of deal, as Kanon might have described it.

“My bad, my bad!” Leon was quick to offer his help, pulling the pianist up to her feet before swiftly letting go of her hand. It was as if the second she stood up a tsunami of paranoia crashed over him and suddenly she was no longer a helpless girl he’d knocked to the ground.

She was a killer. Just like him. That’s why they were on that damn ship to begin with.

“N-No, it’s fine...I just wasn’t expecting your door, of all doors, to swing open suddenly like that.”

Kaede looked at him with watery magenta eyes. After blinking a couple times, the water cleared out, and she offered him a quick, apologetic look.

“I...I wasn’t looking for you, I swear! I just happened to be walking by-”

Leon scoffed, running his hand through his hair with a forceful tug, “Yeah yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I wasn’t thinking that.”

It’s true, he wasn’t. But, now that she mentioned it...what was she doing out here anyway? Not like he could ask her that, since he was the one coming out unprompted.

An awkward silence sucked the air out of their lungs, dragging it out quickly and quietly. Normally, the punk would be incredibly good at filling the void, especially with girls. But this was different. He’d literally just been thinking about her in all the meanest ways; they weren’t exactly going on a date.

“...If you don’t mind me asking...why are you out here? Or, coming out here, I mean?”

Leon frowned slightly. He wasn’t great at reading people, so he couldn’t tell how she meant that question, if she was suspecting him of planning a murder or not. But, it was a fair enough question, and he had just injured her by coming out of his room.

He sighed and admitted, “My cabin was getting stuffy, I needed to get some fresh air.” he saw the opportunity to extract similar information, “You?”

“Ah, same, pretty much.” she added with a small smile, “Kaito and I actually like to do some night training together, so I was also out just doing that.”

Leon nodded in acknowledgement, “Ah, cool.”

“Yeah.”

…

…

Fuck if this isn’t the most uncomfortable thing…

The amount of eye contact being avoided here was unprecedented by such extraverted people, it was slowly killing Kaede as much as it was killing Leon. He really just wanted to be able to look her in the eye and act normal around her. He couldn’t shake the embarrassing feeling that he wouldn’t have this problem if they were just regular high schoolers again. God, what he wouldn’t give to go back to that!

…

Is she...waiting for something? She fancied herself the leader pretty early on. Again, under any other circumstance, he’d have no qualms with that. The punk was surprised she hadn’t asked to walk together yet, given all the kumbaya crap she’d been pulling the whole time.

...Unless...is she still caught up over their earlier discussion? What she said before, about not forcing him into anything?

So..she was waiting to see if he would ask her to join him?

…

Admittedly, Leon wasn’t sure at this point. Did he want to take that risk? This did technically count as visiting a girl alone at night. That  _ was  _ in direct violation of his new number one commandment.

…

Shit, dude, what should he do? She’s just looking at him with those guilty magenta eyes. It took just a smidge of empathy to recognize that look. Seriously, how could any of them be trusted around each other? Why shouldn’t she be just as scared of him as he is of her? No matter what image they put up in front, they were all literally in the same boat.

Whatever happened to Kaede Akamtsu was also unfair. Leon could understand that much, without even having to know why she did it, he could appreciate that she felt as guilty as he did. That she deserved it as much as he deserved it. Which isn’t to say not at all, but isn’t to say entirely either.

…

Fuck it.

“...Hey...if you want...you could walk with me? Y’know, since we’re both out here anyway.”

When Leon’s greyish blues landed on Kaede’s magenta, he could see the guilt drain away from them, replenished now with a feeling of gratitude. A feeling of hope.

“Yeah...I’d like that...if you’re okay with it.”

Leon nodded and cocked his head to the side. Hands in his pocket, he began to walk down the hallway, Kaede shuffling to catch up with him. The punk didn’t give so much as a sideways glance to the pianist as they once more allowed the silence to engulf them. Only the sound of the ocean, and the slight creaking of the boat as it rocked back and forth, made them aware they were even alive for the time being.

Having finally reached the deck, the baseball player and the piano player leaned carefully on the rail and looked out across the vast ocean ahead of them. The stars were barely visible beyond the blackened skies, but some shone bright enough to send a signal to the two teenagers down below. A signal to remind them that there was a light beyond the darkness; that there is always something beyond.

“...Hey, Leon?”

“Hm? Yeah?”

“This might be a weird thing to focus on, but...is it true that you’re a natural redhead?”

Leon blinked, confused. “No, that’s wrong.”

Kade smiled a bittersweet smile, with a delicate chuckle and a nostalgic twinkle in her eye.

“W-Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

**Author's Note:**

> You get the joke? Because in the English version, Shuichi and Leon have the same voice actor...it's clever, I promise.


End file.
